The location was a bit too secluded and refined for a salon, Qi Le An couldn’t help but wonder how Chen knew a place like this.
Qi Le An was amazed by the exquisite interior decor of the salon as they walked in, there was no loud music or strong fragrance in the salon, every detail was just so chic and unconventional.
Even the receptionist looked so elegant and stylish, “Morning, gentlemen, welcome! Are you here for an appointment?”
“Morning, yes we do, we are here to see Linda,the name is Chen Shan.” Chen leaned towards the receptionist and flashed a cheeky smile at her, resting his elbow on the desk.
‘Ah, Chen Ge’s name is Chen Shan~’ thought Qi Le An.
Color flared in the receptionist’s cheeks, she checked her computer and said, “11 a.m. Mr. Chen, welcome.”
Chen Shan nodded, “That’s correct, are you a new stylist here, how come I have never seen you before?”
The receptionist chuckled, “You are making fun of me, Mr. Chen, I’m the receptionist here and I just started a couple days ago.”
Qi Le An looked at Chen Shan with disbelief, ‘Geez, he is not always poker-faced, Chen Ge knows how to smile... ...’
Soon a tall and slender woman walked towards them, Qi Le An was gay, but he appreciated beauties in every gender. This woman had such an arresting face with chiseled features, her Mohawk hairstyle was quite bold for a girl back in 2011.
‘She must be Linda!’ thought Qi Le An.
Linda beamed with smiles on seeing Chen Shan, it looked she and Chen Shan knew each other well, Chen Shan hugged her and said, “Linda, do me a favor, look at my boy over here, I know he is a star but please make him look like a star.”
Linda raised her eyebrow, “What is going on, a rich kid like Chen Shan, starts to do things hands-on? Wonders never cease!”
Chen Shan patted Linda’s shoulder, “Ouch, Linda, stop making fun of your friend, all right?”
Linda smiled at Chen Shan and turned around to look Qi Le An up an down.
It wasn’t until now did Qi Le An understand Chen Shan’s attitude towards people, Chen Shan didn’t show the slightest sign of flattering when he knew Qi Le An was going to audition for Director Chen’s movie and Chen Shan argued with Mr. Li and Mrs. Wang on the basis of reason when they didn’t want to let Qi Le An’s contract go.
Chen Shan disdained to play by the worldly rules for he had what it took to do things at his own will. Qi Le An wondered who Chen Shan was.
Linda asked Chen Shan and Qi Le An follow her all the way to her own studio at the end of the hallway where they could communicate more and ask Qi Le An to do a few fittings.
A studio it was called, but it was even bigger than Qi Le An’s new apartment. Linda asked them to be seated on the sofa while she poured them some tea, “What style do you have in mind, or what style would you like to try?”
Qi Le An looked at Chen Shan and Chen Shan looked at him back, the message it conveyed was ‘buddy, don’t look at me, you gotta do this by yourself’.
Qi Le An felt so ill at ease under Chen Shan and Linda’s gaze. Never had he been interested in fashion in both his lives, he had never dressed with real flair or even style. The only stylist he had worked with in his last life was when arranged by the crew of the variety show he was in.
Seeing Qi Le An’s reaction, Linda burst into laughter, “Chen Shan, your boy is adorable!”
Chen Shan shook his head like a disappointed mama, “You know what. Linda, be my guest, I trust you completely. He is going to audition for Director Chen’s movie, I guess a new hairstyle and some new outfits.”
“Auditioning for Director Chen’s movie, that’s a huge deal! Good for you, young man. Don’t worry, I will make sure you are going to hog all the limelight!” Linda winked at Qi Le An.
With that Linda asked her assistant to take Qi Le An to wash his hair first before the haircut, while she and Chen Shan had a discussion about the haircut.
This was the first time that Qi Le An had his hair done in such a fancy hair salon, he felt so excited about the makeover. He could vaguely hear Chen Shan and Linda’s cheerful voices while he was getting a hair wash.
The assistant took Qi Le An back to the studio and seated him on a chair right across a huge mirror.
“Are you ready?” You could feel the excitement in Linda’s voice.
Qi Le An nodded, he was excited and a bit worried at the same time.
“We need to get rid of the bangs. I know bangs is so in right now, but not for a movie star, all right?” with that Linda cut Qi Le An’s thick bangs.
Qi Le An saw Chen Shan’s reflection in the mirror, Chen Shan would occasionally show a cheeky smile, which made Qi Le An more curious what Chen Shan was going to do about his hair.
Linda had cut Qi Le An’s hair on both sides, and Qi Le An exclaimed, “It’s Fauxhawk, right?”
“Correct!”
Linda was such an amazing hair artist, getting rid of the thick bangs was like a stroke of genius, Qi Le An’s bright eyes now stood out more. It was so youthful and eye-catching, the finished look would draw people’s attention without appearing over-the-top.
Seeing the finished look, Chen Shan rose to his feet and walked towards them, “Great job, Linda! Now he looks like a million dollars!”
“Do you like it, An?” asked Linda.
“I do, I love it, thank you so much!” Qi Le An exclaimed.
“Please select a few outfits for my boy,” added Chen Shan.
“No problem”, said Linda, “I have to say, not a lot of people can pull this off, but you look great, An.”
Linda picked a simple Tom Ford white T-shirt without loud prints or logos and a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo jeans to celebrate those long legs.
“Go put them on, I will select some shoes.” Linda felt good about this look, she let out a whistle when Qi Le An walked out from the fitting room, even Chen Shan was fascinated by this new look.
“That’s my boy!” Chen Shan felt so proud.
Qi Le An had always been a pretty boy despite all the cheap clothes he had been wearing, it was always a feast to the eye when you got to witness an unadorned beauty’s transformation.
The hair framed his beautiful face, his eyes looked like they were exuding tenderness when you looked at them. The white top made him so approachable while the tight jeans had revealed the tight physique and the long legs.
Seeing how tight the jeans were, Chen Shan frowned slightly, “Linda, get him a new pair of jeans.”
“Why? This is perfect!” Linda looked so surprised.
“That’s too tight!”
Linda pouted and selected a new pair for Qi Le An.
Chen Shan looked more pleased with the new pair, “There you go, a young boy shouldn’t wear those tight jeans. All righty, let’s try some makeup then.”
Linda took them to the cosmetic department where she talked with several makeup artists and decided what style she thought would suit Qi Le An the best.
Soon the group makeup artists surrounded Qi Le An after he was seated, while Chen Shan took a seat on the sofa like a boss, somehow Qi Le An felt like a boy toy.
Qi Le An took a few sets of photos after the makeup was done, he was so surprised when he checked the time, it was almost seven p.m.
The makeup artists removed Qi Le An’s makeup in a bustle when the photographer said it was a wrap. Qi Le An felt exhausted when he and Chen Shan finally went back to the car, Qi Le An was starving and he hoped the canteen was still open.
“What do you want for dinner?” Chen Shan asked Qi Le An like he had read Qi Le An’s mind.
“Pardon?”
“Pardon what? Aren’t you hungry?”
Qi Le An stroked his belly and nodded, “I don’t mind, something quick and simple would be great.”
“No problem.” with that Chen Shan started the car and he parked the car near a KFC.
“An, you know what, let’s just say today is cheat day.” Chen Shan showed his classic cheeky smile.
“Just wait for me here.”
Qi Le An laughed like a little boy.
Soon Chen Shan got back with two Buckets in hand, “Hey, I said we are having a cheat day today, go hard or go home!”
The two gorged themselves on hot wings and chips, Qi Le An felt so happy.
“The audition is the day after tomorrow, I think the first outfit we tried at Linda’s is perfect, I deliberately asked you to take the photo shoot wearing other outfits, ha!” said Chen Shan.
Qi Le An’s eyes dimmed, he knew no way Glory would reimburse all those designers’ clothes for him, it must be Chen Shan who had paid for him.
Noticing Qi Le An’s facial expression, Chen Shan put on an angry face and changed the subject, “I will kick your ass if you fail the audition!”
“That’s not gonna happen!” Qi Le An appreciated Chen Shan’s kindness and played along.
Chen Shan drove Qi Le An back to his new apartment, Qi Le An thanked Chen Shan again before he got off the car.
Qi Le An texted Jiao after he put all the new outfits in his closet.
Qi Le An: Sister Jiao, how have you been?”
Jiao: I’m good, I can never thank you enough, my boss has got the yogurt endorsement, she has been treating me so well.
Qi Le An: You are flattering me, Sister Jiao. Can I ask you a question though, do you know Chen Shan from Film and Television Cooperation Department?
Several minutes later.
Jiao: Chen Shan is one of the major shareholder’s son, why, you know him?
Qi Le An’s heart started to pound, never had he expected Chen Shan had such a strong background.
‘Heaven has sent him to me to compensate me?’ Qi Le An was so thrilled.
Qi Le An: I just knew him from work, thought I better know who he was.